The new law defines bullying as any repeated harassment, hazing or threatening in person, or in writing including electronic communication. As proposed, it would have directed public school districts to adopt certain policies addressing the issue of bullying. The final version simply prohibits students and teachers from bullying any student in a public K-12 school. It does not explicitly refer to cyberbullying, but the law would forbid it under the general bullying ban.
Parents and local authorities can also go after bullies, schools or education officials who break the law.
Prior to Tuesday’s signing, Montana was the only state in the US without a law addressing bullying.
From Gay.net: For Brandon and Benjamin, having photographer Brian Powers shoot them on a ranch outside Missoula, Montana was about capturing their relationship in its most natural environment.
Brandon grew up around the ranch and, as a couple, they’re united by their love of the open-air Montana lifestyle.
For more of the handsome couple in equally handsome surroundings, head over to Gay.net.
MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts counts down the 5 biggest LGBT stories of the week, including
• Marriage equality comes to South Carolina and Montana
• Country music singers Ty Herndon and Billy Gilman come out as gay
• A new Indiana University survey finds heterosexual support for gays is up, but straight folks are still not comfortable seeing public displays of affection among gays
• Out NBA-er Jason Collins retires from basketball
While Montana celebrates the news of marriage equality coming to the state, some Yellowstone County employees are being allowed to “opt out” of issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
The county anticipated the ruling and the human resources department had told Clerk of District Court Kristie Boelter that employees can choose not to issue marriage licenses for religious reasons.
The County cited Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Part of Title VII states: “It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer….to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin…”
Boelter said 20 clerks work in her department and the opting out was not a problem.
She said one clerk cited religion and four others said same-sex marriage went against their morals and values.
However, Boelter said morals and values do not apply to Title VII.
While individuals can decide to not issue licenses, she said it is her duty to uphold the law.
“We all take an oath when we enter the Office of the Clerk of Courts to uphold the Constitution of the state of Montana and the Constitution of the United States of America,” Boelter said. “I have a particular clerk that has religious beliefs that would like to opt out of doing the marriage licenses and we will allow that to happen. I have enough clerks in my office to be able to accommodate that.”
I’m not so sure Title VII was meant to allow a religious exemption from doing your job as a civil employee when it comes to gays and lesbians.
Jill Houk, left, and Randi “Doc” Paul were the first same-sex couple married Thursday morning in Yellowstone County
Same-sex marriages began in full today in Big Sky country after U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled Wednesday that Montana’s constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
Randi “Doc” Paul and Jill Houk, of Billings, were the first same-sex couple to be married in Yellowstone County.
“It’s nice not to have to say ‘my girlfriend,’” when talking about 28-year-old Paul, Houk said. “Now I can say ‘my wife.’’
Even though the ruling came late in the day on Wednesday, a few couples were able to say “I do” yesterday:
Among the first Montana couples to get their licenses Wednesday were Amy Wagner, 56, and Karen Langebeck, 48, who have been together for 22 years.
After hearing about the ruling, they got on the road to get their license.
“Being able to get married and introduce Karen as my wife — that’s a big deal. Now I have a way to describe this relationship that everybody understands,” Wagner said.
In Montana’s most populous county, Yellowstone, the clerk of the District Court said her office was ready to issue licenses.
“For my office, nothing will be different than any other day,” Kristie Lee Boelter said.
Also Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union will hold celebrations at county courthouses in Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula. The group will provide officiants for couples who wish to marry immediately, ACLU spokeswoman Amy Cannata said.
In spite of all the shiny happy people, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox still asserts he plans on appealing the ruling until options run out.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) shares his support for today’s court ruling which struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Via press release:
“Today’s decision ensures we are closer to fulfilling our promise of freedom, dignity, and equality for all Montanans.
“It is a day to celebrate our progress, while recognizing the qualities that bind us as Montanans: a desire to make a good life for ourselves and our families, while providing greater opportunities to the next generation.
“I have instructed my administration to quickly take all appropriate steps to ensure that we are recognizing and affording the same rights and responsibilities to legally married same-sex couples that all married Montanans have long enjoyed.”
However, Montana’s Attorney General Tim Fox does not share his governor’s enthusiasm. Not a supporter of marriage equality, he compared same-sex marriage to incest and polygamy in a brief filed with this case. The Republican has already said he plans to appeal:
“It is the attorney general’s sworn duty to uphold and defend Montana’s constitution until such time as there is no further review or no appeal can be made in a court of law,” Fox said. “Fulfilling that duty, the state of Montana will appeal this ruling in light of the fact that there are conflicting federal court decisions and no final word from the U.S. Supreme Court.”
U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris has just ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in Montana, striking down the ban on marriage between same-sex couples in the state.
The ruling comes as no surprise in that Montana is under the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals jurisdiction, which recently struck down similar marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada.
Morris did not stay his decision and ordered the state to stop enforcing Montana law banning same-sex marriage immediately.
By my count, Montana becomes the 34th state to have marriage equality, with South Carolina to officially become #35 tomorrow, although some marriages have already taken place today in the Palmetto State.
This ruling was in the case Rolando v. Fox, a federal legal case involving four couples, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana. The couples are Angie and Tonya Rolando, Shauna and Nicole Goubeaux, Ben Milano and Chase Weinhandl, and Sue Hawthorne and Adel Johnson. These couples were either married outside of Montana and denied respect in the state, or want to get married in the state.
From the ruling from Judge Morris:
These families want for their children what all families in Montana want. They want to provide a safe and loving home in which their children have the chance to explore the world in which they live. They want their children to have the chance to discover their place in this world. And they want their children to have the chance to fulfill their highest dreams.
These families, like all of us, want their children to adventure into the world without fear of violence; to achieve all that their talent and perseverance allows without fear of discrimination; and to love themselves so that they can love others. No family wants to deprive its precious children of the chance to marry the loves of their lives.
Montana no longer can deprive Plaintiffs and other same-sex couples of the chance to marry their loves.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris has canceled a hearing set for November 20 in a case challenging Montana’s ban on gay marriage, saying he will rule based on briefs already filed with the court.
The four gay couples who sued to overturn the ban along with Attorney General Tim Fox, who is defending the ban, agreed that U.S. District Judge Brian Morris has enough information to decide the case without the formal hearing that had been scheduled next Thursday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down similar gay-marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada. The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana expects a favorable ruling because the 9th Circuit includes Montana.
“We don’t think there are any material facts in dispute, and so the case can be decided without a trial.
The ban on same sex marriage in the Montana Constitution is the same as the bans that were ruled unconstitutional in Idaho, and Nevada. The four couples in our case are situated the same as the couples who won in the Idaho and Nevada cases.
We are raising the same issues that were raised in the Idaho and Nevada cases, and we are optimistic that the decisions of the Ninth Circuit in those cases will convince the District Court to rule in our favor.”
Governor Steve Bullock has spoken out in favor of same-sex marriage in Montana.
Montana’s Great Falls Tribune posted an op-ed today in support of marriage equality in the state and urging Attorney General Tim Fox to “accept the inevitable” and stop defending the discriminatory law:
One after another, federal appeals courts, including the 9th Circuit that covers Montana, have thrown out gay marriage bans in other states, and Montana’s position will be overturned. Why? Because that stance discriminates against gays, lesbians and others. It is unfair to these folks, regardless of some Americans who disapprove of their sexual orientation.
The issue of homosexuality and marriage was easier to deal with when some researchers and, frankly, charlatans tried to prove that people could be cured of their gay nature. In recent decades, science indicates that sexual orientation is more likely to be based in a person’s genetic makeup.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris will hear arguments Nov. 20 on a motion for summary judgment in a case filed this spring by four gay couples. We’d like to see [AG Tim] Fox at that hearing accept the inevitable and agree with the motion.
It’s time for the state of Montana to quit wasting taxpayers’ money and to accept gay marriage in Montana, even if churches can go their own way on this matter. Some people still want to make political points with this issue, but we say, it’s too late for that. It’s all over. Montana law should allow people committed to each other, whether straight or gay, to make their relationship legal and lasting.
The Arkansas Supreme Court has set November 20th as the date it will hear arguments concerning a challenge to the state’s gay marriage ban.
From Buzzfeed’s legal eagle Chris Geidner:
Breaking: Oral argument in the Arkansas Supreme Court for the marriage case has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, November 20. — Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) October 23, 2014
